


It's Never Quite As Easy As Planned

by Flying_Raven



Series: Eret and his Path to Redemption [2]
Category: Minecraft (Video Game), Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Dethroned Eret (Video Blogging RPF), Eret Redemption (Video Blogging RPF), Eret-centric (Video Blogging RPF), Gen, Hurt Eret (Video Blogging RPF), Infection, Injury, Kinda, Nausea, Possible medical inaccuracies, Soft Wilbur Soot, They/Them Pronouns for Eret (Video Blogging RPF), Vague descriptions of medical procedures, Wilbur is concerned and he doesn't like it, i think it fits, no beta we die like Eret's leg
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-25
Updated: 2021-02-25
Packaged: 2021-03-16 05:07:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,972
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29695497
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Flying_Raven/pseuds/Flying_Raven
Summary: An ex traitor and his enemy have to travel together, alone. What could possibly go wrong? Turns out, a lot can when you run into a group of pillagers on the way to the village.Or: Wilbur and Eret need to go to a village to trade for supplies. Eret gets hurt and doesn't tell Wilbur. There is no way this ends well.
Relationships: Eret & Wilbur Soot, No Romantic Relationship(s)
Series: Eret and his Path to Redemption [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2182158
Comments: 8
Kudos: 164





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is a series now pog! Also one of my first multichaptered stories :) Standard notice that English is not my native language so apologies for wonky grammer/spelling!

“You! With me. I need to speak to you.” the sharp command coming from Wilbur snapped Eret out of their thoughts. They had been guarding the perimeter, their arm having almost fully healed from their… escapade a few weeks ago. Silently, they sheathed their sword (always at the ready, always prepared) and walked over to Wilbur. His face was stone cold, showing the same distrust he’d been displaying towards Eret for the past few weeks. But distrust was better than hate, Eret thought as they followed Wilbur to the planning room. 

The planning room was cold. No campfire or other heat sources were present except for the torches on the wall. A chill ran down Eret’s spine, but they suppressed it as soon as they saw Wilbur looking back at them.

“There is a village a few days travel from here. We need to trade with them. You’re coming with me. I don’t trust you enough to let you stay on your own in Pogtopia.” Wilbur said. There was no room for argument in his voice, and Eret didn’t feel like trying anyway. 

“Yes Wil- General.” Eret corrected themselves halfway through. They’d been yelled at enough for calling Wilbur by his name instead of general, and they’d very much liked to keep the peace between them. Otherwise the next few days would be hell. 

“Good. We leave tomorrow at dawn. Make sure you have food and other supplies for a week. I’m not bringing any for you so find your own. Dismissed.” Wilbur said. Eret nodded and was about to leave when a question popped into their mind.

“Will it just be the two of us?” they asked. Wilbur raised an eyebrow, clearly not expecting Eret to ask anything.

“Yes. We need all hands on deck back here. Now leave.” he responded. Eret nodded curtly again and walked out of the room, letting out a sigh as soon as the door was closed again. This was going to be… interesting. They needed to grab supplies, but first they needed to finish their patrol. Yeah, that seemed like a plan.

The next day started way to early for Eret’s comfort. They had always been a night owl, and having to get up at the crack of dawn to meet up with someone who still seemed to hate your guts wasn’t his idea of a fun morning. 

They quietly grabbed their bag and sighed, running a hand through their hair. Niki was still asleep, so they took care to be very quiet. Of course, it didn’t really work and Niki woke up. 

“Hey.” she whispered. Her voice was still rough with sleep. Eret jerked around, quickly putting on their sunglasses to cover their eyes.

“Morning Niki. Did I wake you up?” they asked. Niki shrugged.

“I usually wake up around this time anyway. Are you leaving with Wilbur?” 

“Yeah.” Eret sighed, running their hand though their hair again. Niki made a sympathetic noise. 

“Good luck. You got this. Maybe this will help him come around about you again.” she said, trying to be comforting. 

“Perhaps. I’m not holding my breath for it though. I’ll see you later Niki. Try to not get hurt while I’m gone please.” Eret said. Niki laughed slightly.

“Same goes for you. You can always reach me if you need anything.” she said, gesturing at her communicator. With that, Eret smiled at Niki one last time and headed out the door. 

Wilbur was waiting at one of the edges of Pogtopia when Eret arrived. He was dressed in his usual coat, a bag haphazardly swung over his shoulder. He raised his eyebrows when he spotted Eret.

“Huh. You’re on time. Didn’t expect that. Let’s go. It’s about three days by foot.” Wilbur said curtly. They started walking in silence.

“How do you know where to go? I thought this part of the SMP wasn’t explored much.” Eret asked, trying to make conversation. 

“Map.” Wilbur answered, closing all channels for conversation. Eret sighed internally. This was going to be a long trip. 

They spend the next day and a half in almost complete silence. Only occasionally it was broken by Wilbur giving Eret short commands. But then they ran into a problem. The problem being a group of pillagers. Eret hadn’t even noticed them at first, being distracted by their own thoughts. They only noticed the pillagers when Wilbur grabbed their (still slightly sore, ouch!) arm and pulled them into the cover of trees

“They are gonna see us idiot! Pillagers, up ahead. Should be able to take them if you don’t fuck it up.” Wilbur said, drawing his bow and aiming it at the leader of the pillagers. He shot, hitting the leader square in the head and killing him instantly.    
Then, it seemed like all hell broke loose. Eret drew their sword and rushed in, attacking the nearest pillager. They were so caught up in the fighting they didn’t notice the quickly approaching crossbow bolt. In fact, they didn’t notice it until it hit their thigh. They let out a cry, almost dropping their sword and pressing their hand against the wound. Wilbur hadn’t noticed, and since the pillager in front of him had died they acted quickly and without thought. They grabbed the bolt and tugged at it, but a part of it seemed to be stuck. Instead, they snapped off the bolt as closely to the wound as possible and resigned themselves to having to dig out the rest of it when Wilbur was asleep. They had no desire to find out how Wilbur would react if he found out Eret was wounded. He wouldn’t want to waste healing supplies on them anyway. Because of this, Eret shifted the sheath of their sword against the wound so it wasn’t visible. Then, they resumed fighting. It hurt, it really did. But there was no time for pain. 

When the pillagers were all dead they resumed traveling. Eret had to put a lot of effort into walking normally. And still he felt like Wilbur had some suspicions. But if he did, he didn’t mention anything. 

That night when Wilbur was asleep they checked out the wound. It was red and tender, and they were sure the head of the bolt was still in his leg. They grabbed their knife and a stick. This was going to hurt and they didn’t want to wake up Wilbur. They bit onto the stick and wiped the knife down one last time before using it to try and dig out the arrowhead. But the pain was so intense their vision started to black out and they had to stop. 

“Fuck.” they whispered. They grabbed a bandana from the bottom of their bag and wrapped it around the wound to stop the bleeding. It was only half a day of travel more to the village. Maybe they could buy a healing potion there. And if not, it was only three and a half more days until they were back home. They could make that, right? They would be just fine.

When Eret woke up that morning they regretted the thought from last night. He felt cold, and at the same time the skin around the wound felt like it was on fire. They shivered, slowly getting up and stretching. Flinching, they realised the wound had also started hurting more. Wilbur was already up, looking at Eret with a questioning expression. 

“Are we going to go or are you planning on staying on the ground all day?” he snapped. Eret suppressed a groan and fully straightened up. 

“We can go.” they said. Had Wilbur really not noticed anything? Or was he just ignoring it because he hated Eret? Eret didn’t know.

The last part of the way to the village was painful. Eret had started to feel nauseous and at one point had almost vomited. Wilbur had been shooting them looks, but they couldn’t decern if they were looks of thinly veiled concern or thinly veiled hate. They arrived at the village, Wilbur immediately wandering off to find whatever he was looking for. Eret looked around for a cleric, but realised with frustration that there was none. Instead, he sat down on the edge of one of the farms and let his head rest on his knee. They really felt like shit. After a while Wilbur came back, holding a new pouch full of… something. Seeds maybe? 

“We’re done.” he said. Eret nodded, immediately regretting the action as it brought a new surge of nausea. They left the village and started to head back to Pogtopia. But around sunset Eret went from bad to worse. They stumbled and caught themselves against a tree. Wilbur stopped walking and raised an eyebrow. “What is going on Eret? You-” he couldn’t finish the sentence as Eret swayed on his legs and passed out. 

Wilbur darted forward, crouching next to Eret and looking at them. They looked bad, pale and sweaty. Then, he noticed the bandana tied around their thigh. He swore it hadn’t been there when they left Pogtopia. He untied it and looked at the wound. 

“Oh fuck.” 


	2. Chapter 2

“Oh fuck.” Wilbur whispered under his breath.

The wound on Eret’s thigh was red and hot to the touch. Furthermore, it was also swollen and it looked like someone had tried to open it further with a knife. This looked like it required more than just a regen potion, which was the only thing he had on him. He just hoped it wouldn't turn into blood poisoning. He opened his bag and grabbed the potion, but he realised he knew very little about medicine. So, he did the one other thing he could think of. He grabbed his communicator and send a message to Tubbo. 

> **_Wilbur whispers to Tubbo:_** Tubbo are you there.   
> Tubbo.  
> I need help.  
>  _ **Tubbo whispers to Wilbur:** _What’s wrong Wilbur?  
>  _ **Wilbur whispers to Tubbo:** _Eret got hurt and now the wound looks infected what do I do  
> It looks bad  
> I have a regen potion but I don’t know if something is still in the wound or not  
>  ** _Tubbo whispers to Wilbur:_** You can’t use the regen potion if the wound is infected it will seal in the infection beneeth the skin  
> Can you ask Eret if there still is something in there?  
>  _ **Wilbur whispers to Tubbo:** _They are unconscious  
>  _ **Tubbo whispers to Wilbur:** _oh  
> That’s not good.  
>  ** _Wilbur whispers to Tubbo:_** I figured smartass.  
>  _ **Tubbo whispers to Wilbur:** _that was rude.  
>  _ **Wilbur whispers to Tubbo:** _Sorry, not very happy right now. Might not like Eret but I still don’t want him to die on my watch.   
> **_Tubbo whispers to Wilbur:_** Understandable  
> I have the supplies needed to treat an infection here.  
> How far away from Pogtopia are you?  
>  _ **Wilbur whispers to Tubbo:** _2 days by foot  
> I don’t have a saddle with me.  
> And there’s no horses here anyway.  
> And the village didn’t have a cleric if i remember correctly.  
>  _ **Tubbo whispers to Wilbur:** _Well fuck.   
> I can ride out and meet you halfway   
> Can they walk?  
>  ** _Wilbur whispers to Tubbo:_** I don’t know.  
> Might need to carry them.  
> Idiot.  
> They are putting both our lifes at risk.   
> I’ll send you the instructions for where we went. I think it’s best we stay the night where we are and then head in your direction.  
>  ** _Tubbo whispers to Wilbur:_** Okay, i’ll see you there.  
> Try to clean the wound  
> And get them to eat something so their immune system does the stuff.

Wilbur put the communicator back into his bag and looked back at Eret. If he was honest with himself, he felt a little guilty. He’d noticed Eret looking off all day. Seen the way they’d almost vomited a few times and how they had been shaking. But his still present anger at their betrayal had made it impossible for him to say anything. But now they were laying on the floor, and he felt guilty.

He grabbed a bottle of water from his bag and gently cut away some of the fabric of Eret’s pants surrounding the wound. Then, he poured some water on the wound to try and clean it. This action had the added effect of making Eret somewhat conscious again. Eret let out a low groan, trying to move away from the thing that was making their thigh hurt worse. Instead, they felt a hand gently push them back down. 

“Don’t move too much Eret. Are you with me?” They heard Wilbur ask. They groaned vaguely again. Their head felt like it was filled with cotton or something. It was probably the fever, even if they didn’t know that at the time. They were helped up against the tree, so they were now sitting up. “Your thigh is infected. Is there still something in the wound? It looks like you tried to dig something out.” Wilbur asked. Eret nodded slowly.

“Arrowhead.” they muttered. Wilbur nodded, pinching the bridge of his nose.

“You are an idiot, you know that right? You can die from infections and you decide to not say anything? Dear god what am I going to do with you.” Wilbur mumbled the last part of the sentence.

“Didn’t w’nt to be a both’r.” Eret slurred. Wilbur’s frown deepened and he leaned forward to touch Eret’s forehead. 

“You’re running a fever.” he stated. Eret didn’t reply, they were halfway to unconsciousness again. 

Wilbur moved back from Eret, grabbing his flint and steel and starting a fire. He didn’t like how much Eret looked like Tommy when they were sick. He could see his little brother in Eret and it worried him. He didn’t want to be concerned about them, he still saw them as a traitor. But seeing them like that, laying against a tree, suffering from a wound they kept secret, he couldn’t help but feel sympathy. He lit the fire, and then moved over to Eret again to help them drink some water. Eret greedily drank it, in their haste choking on it and having a coughing fit. 

“Eret you need to eat something as well.” Wilbur said, his voice softer than normal. Eret shook his head.

“Nauseous.” they muttered. Wilbur sighed.

“You have to try mate. I don’t want you starving before Tubbo gets here. We’re meeting him halfway so he can help you.” he said. Eret nodded vaguely, but Wilbur had the idea that they had not fully processed what he had said. So he just gave some bread to Eret and hoped for the best.

Eret didn’t keep the food down, and Wilbur send another message to Tubbo.

> _**Wilbur whispers to Tubbo:** _The arrowhead is still in the wound.  
> Do I take it out?  
>  ** _Tubbo whispers to Wilbur:_** Yes absolutely  
> Especially if there’s still wood in there.  
>  ** _Wilbur whispers to Tubbo:_** Thanks.

He turned back to Eret. 

“Eret? I’m gonna do something very mean but it has to be done okay? I need to take the arrowhead out of your thigh.” he said. Eret looked up at him, his eyes glazed over and feverish. “Do you know what I’m saying?” he asked, trying to get a confirmation. Eret nodded slowly. 

“Hurt?” they asked. God, they really seemed like a child. Wilbur nodded. 

“It’s gonna hurt. See this as payback for the betrayal.” He mumbled the last part, and Eret didn’t seem to notice. Wilbur grabbed his knife and ran it through the flames a few times. Then, he let it cool down before going back to Eret. The screams they let out as Wilbur reopened the wound and dug out the arrowhead were heartbreaking. “I’m sorry Eret, I’m sorry. There, it’s out. See?” he showed the arrowhead to Eret, but they didn’t seem to be processing anything. They had curled up as tightly as possible and were mumbling apologies. Wilbur quickly ran some water over the wound and bandaged it up again. Then, he gently pushed Eret down so they were laying down and put a blanket over them. “Sleep Eret, I’ll keep an eye on you.” Wilbur said. 

That night Wilbur was awoken by someone whimpering close to him. He shot up, looking around before spotting Eret. They were laying in the same position as before, their limbs rigid with fear and sweating. Wilbur moved closer, wanting to wake them up, but pausing when he heard what Eret was mumbling. 

“I’m sorry! I’m sorry! I never meant for this to happen. I didn’t want to hurt you guys. I didn’t want to BE hurt. I’m sorry! I don’t want to be alone again. It’s so alone in there Dream, please don’t. I’m-” 

A new pang of concern and regret filled Wilbur. He didn’t know the exact context of the phrases Eret was muttering, but he knew enough to know that it must really not be fun. And it made him feel guilty for not giving them a second chance. 

Wilbur sat down next to Eret and tried shaking him awake, but he jerked back when he touched Eret’s skin. It felt like he was on fire. It was really bad. 

> **_Wilbur whispers to Tubbo:_** Eret’s deteriorating.   
> I think I need to move now.   
> Are you awake?  
> Can you start moving too  
> We need to meet as soon as possible.   
> I think the infection is spreading  
> Tubbo wake up  
> Tubbo  
> Tubbo  
> Tubbo  
>  ** _Tubbo whispers to Wilbur:_** I’m up I’m up.  
> I’m gearing up now.   
> I’m bringing an extra horse.   
> If you go as fast as possible while carrying Eret and I go full speed we could meet in 6 hours.   
> Will Eret make that?  
>  ** _Wilbur whispers to Tubbo:_** I don’t know  
> I’m not a doctor.   
> But his skin feels like it’s on fire  
> And he won’t stay conscious.   
> I’ll see you soon  
> Hopefully.

Wilbur put out the fire and grabbed his bag, stuffing Eret’s bag inside of his own. He didn’t like traveling at night, it was much slower and there was the danger of mobs. But this couldn’t wait. He tried to shake Eret awake again. Eret opened their eyes and tried to focus on Wilbur, but their eyes felt like he was staring though a fog. Furthermore, their sunglasses felt like a thousand tiny needles on their sensitive skin. They jerked their head, trying desperately to get them off. Wilbur cocked his head, before realising what Eret was trying to do.  
“Do you want your sunglasses off?” he asked. Eret nodded. Wilbur gently took them off and put them inside his bag. He jerked when he saw Eret’s eyes. Blank, almost luminescent. He wished he could stare at them longer, but the clock was ticking. He picked up Eret with less effort than expected. Had Eret always been this skinny? He didn’t have time to ponder it as he set off in the direction he knew he would meet Tubbo. He just hoped Eret would last that long. 

Wilbur’s legs were shaking. He’d been jogging with Eret for quite a while now, and he was beginning to get exhausted. 

“You still with me mate?” He asked, shaking Eret, who was now piggybacking on Wilbur. The only response he got at first was a small whimper. “I’m gonna need more than that.” he said again.

“Mhm. D’nt feel good.” Eret whimpered. 

“I know you don’t. We should meet Tubbo soon, he’ll make you feel better. Stay awake Eret.” He said.

“Why ‘d you care? You hate me.” Eret slurred tiredly. Wilbur sighed.

“Look mate, I don’t like you. Still don’t after what you did to L’manburg. But I can’t deny you’ve tried your best to prove your worth and loyalty to Pogtopia. I’m not gonna let you waste away and die.” He said. He felt the full weight of Eret’s body go more limp against him and almost stumbled. Just then, he heard a shout from up ahead.

“WILBUR! ERET! I CAN SEE YOU!” Tubbo shouted. Wilbur immediately paused and lowered Eret to the ground. Tubbo rode over, sitting on a horse and dragging another one along by a leash. He stopped the horse and immediately jumped off, grabbing his pouch with potions and crouching next to Eret and Wilbur. “How have they been? Have they gotten worse since you last messaged me?” he asked.

“I don’t know! They were conscious just a second ago but passed out again. I got the arrow out but I’m not sure if I got everything.” Wilbur responded nervously. Tubbo nodded.

“I’m going to give them a few potions that should help him last and maybe improve throughout the trip back. When we get back I can fully help them. It’s not sterile here so it would be too dangerous to attempt to properly clean out the wound.” He said, grabbing a few potions and beginning to carefully drop them onto the wound and into Eret’s mouth. 

The road back home was excruciatingly long. Eret leaned against Wilbur on the back of his horse. At last they road back into Pogtopia, being seen by Niki as they crossed the border and quickly dismounted.

“You’re back! I heard about Eret. Are they?” she asked, slightly frantically. Wilbur nodded.

“They’re still alive. Tubbo’s gonna heal them now. “ he said. Niki let out a sigh of relief. She couldn’t help but notice the look of worry Wilbur had as he helped to carry Eret to the infirmary. She also didn’t miss the quiet way he asked Tubbo “They’ll be alright, right?” 

The first thing Eret noticed when they woke up was the bright light in the room. The second thing they noticed was that the room smelled like disinfectant (god, they hated that smell) the third thing they noticed was that this definitely wasn’t the forest where they last remembered being. They pushed themselves up, but were again pushed down by someone. Tubbo, to be specific. They frowned, cocking their head and looking at Tubbo.

“Don’t start pushing yourself again Eret, your leg is still regenerating from the wound.” Tubbo sighed. “What did I say about not getting hurt this time?” he said. It was intended to be somewhat of a joke, but the clear concern took away the humor. 

“How did- what happened?” Eret asked.

“The remnants of the crossbow bolt in your thigh infected the wound. You got off lucky, you could have gotten blood poisoning. Instead the infection just slowly spread around you thigh and stayed relatively local. Wilbur messaged me when you passed out and I met both of you halfway back to Pogtopia.” Tubbo was silent for a second. “You could have easily died Eret. Honestly, if Wilbur hadn’t messaged me last night and told me to come then instead of the morning I doubt you’d still be alive. The infection was about to spread to your blood.” he finished. Eret frowned.

“Wilbur messaged you?” they asked. Tubbo nodded.

“Yeah, first when you passed out for the first time and then again when you couldn’t keep food down. Then again when you deteriorated last night. He-” Tubbo paused, trying to find the right words. “-I’m not sure if ‘cares about you’ are the right words yet, but he doesn’t hate you Eret.” he finished. 

Eret smiled to themselves. Wilbur had been a very good friend of theirs before their betrayal and they had been very sad to lose them. 

“That’s a comforting thought.” they said. They leaned back on the bed, absentmindedly running an hand through their hair. 

“I think it’s best you stay here for a little still. The wound is still healing and you still look drained Eret.” Tubbo said. Eret nodded.

“I’m inclined to agree with you.” they responded. With that, they laid back down and pulled the blankets around their shoulder again. It was good to know that they were starting to redeem themselves. It was really, really good to know.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not me writing both chapters in one day lol. I couldn't help myself. I'm proud of how this turned out!
> 
> Also thanks for the comments already guys I love comments :)


End file.
